Greenock head south for vital match at Dumfries

Greenock make the long trip south to Dumfries on Saturday for what is a crucial fixture in this season's Premier Division programme. It is a 'must win' match, as Greenock have slipped back to second bottom position less than one percent behind Ayr, while Dumfries are firmly stuck at the bottom of the table.

The Dumfries fixture marks the start of the second half of the Premier Division season and Greenock will wish to make a positive start to the nine matches which lie ahead.

WDCU CSL Premier Division Table (as at 23 June)

Greenock have had a real mixed bag of results in the first half of the season. Highlights were the wins over Uddingston and league leaders Ferguslie, and an extremely close match against second placed Clydesdale.

Weather cancellled just two matches, but these were both home fixtures against two of the bottom four teams Stirling County and Dumfries. Had these matches taken place and had wins been achieved, then Greenock may have ended the first half of the league season in a more positive position.

This Saturday, Greenock will be in no doubt about the result they need, and will be being looking for a return to the form of the first weeks in June when runs flowed and the team showed that it could compete with the very best in the Premier Division.

The Nunholm ground in Dumfries is a venue where runs often flow and on Saturday with the warm and sunny weather forecast to continue, the wicket should be a good one for batting.

Neil Flack demonstrated that he is a class batsman with 119 against Clydesdale and 76 against Ferguslie, and another big innings from the team captain on Saturday would be a very welcome boost to the side.

Flack will look for support from a number of his players to ensure that Greenock can get runs flowing once again. Indian professional Saurabh Bandekar could be a key player in this respect as he is undoubtedly a class bat and a high scoring innings is felt to be 'just round the corner'. This Saturday would be a perfect time for him to bat long into the innings.

Dumfries have had a poor first half of the Premier Division season and have yet to register a win. Yet the south of Scotland side have had several good performances but just failed to take maximum points.

In early June, against Stirling County, the Nunholm team scored over 230 runs in their innings but when rain intervened the DLS system was required and in an exciting finish to the match, the teams tied and shared the points. And in their match against Ferguslie, rain intervened and the match abandoned when Dumfries were in a very good position.

Former Greenock player Chris Bellwood is a player whom the Glenparkers will know could be damaging to them on Saturday. Bellwood is back playing in the Dumfries side after being unavailable for most of the first half of the season and has already posted a couple of good scores for his side.

Others whom Greenock will be keen to keep in check include overseas players Andrew Dawson and Jesse Smit. Both players have scored well during two months playing for Dumfries and Smit gained a century against Ferguslie just a few weeks ago.

For Saturday's match, Greenock's team shows a number of changes with Shailesh Prabhu and Fraser Godsman both unavailable and Chris Hempsey out as a result of the hand injury he suffered last week at Poloc. Back into the side come Harry Briggs, who will resume his opening batting partnership with Neil Flack, and also Sean Fischer-Keogh who missed last Saturday's match due to illness. Chirag Pandher is promoted from the Glenpark XI after showing good form with the bat and young Ewan Stewart, who was a late call-up last week, retains his place.

Greenock will be hoping that last week's performance was a 'one-off' and that they can resume their winning run in a game that is crucial to both sides. The game will start as usual at 12 noon.

With the summer holiday period getting going in earnest this weekend and schools now closed for the summer break, the Glenpark XI will be without a number of regulars for their home match with Whiteinch including Mark Farrell, Neil Forrest, Jamie Nowell and Tom Forrest as well as those players who have been called up to the 1st XI to cover for the gaps in that team.

Their opponents on Saturday lie second in the table and comfortably won the earlier encounter in the season, way back in April. Skipper Ally Calder will make his final selection from a youthful squad of fourteen. The match, of 40 overs per side, starts at 1pm.

Greenock Cricket Club is sponsored this season by Cleaning Supplies 4U.